Xiaomi’s current smartphones, which are powered by MIUI or HyperOS shells, have enormous processing power that is often not fully utilized. One of the most useful features for personal productivity is the ability to run two apps simultaneously on a single display, which turns your Redmi Note or Xiaomi 14 into a pocket office, allowing you to watch video tutorials and take notes or chat in the messenger at the same time without leaving the game.
Many users still don’t know how to activate this mode, mistakenly believing that it requires third-party programs. In fact, MiUI system tools allow you to do this natively and with minimal delay. In this article, we will detail all the ways to split the screen, adjust floating windows and hidden features that will make your smartphone experience significantly more convenient.
You will learn not only to run two apps at once, but also to save them in convenient shortcuts for instant access. We will look at the nuances of working with the clipboard between windows, and also analyze the typical problems that owners of Xiaomi devices face when trying to set up multitasking.
What is the split screen mode on Xiaomi
Split Screen is a feature of the Android operating system, adapted by Xiaomi engineers to their proprietary shell. The essence of the technology is that the smartphone display is divided into two independent workspaces. YouTube can work at the top, and a browser or text editor at the bottom. It's not just a picture, but full active processes.
Unlike switching between tabs, both apps remain active, which means that the video will not stop when you start typing a response to Telegram, and the navigator will not stop plotting while you search for an address in your notes, but it is worth considering that the resource intensity of the system increases.
Not all applications support this feature. Software developers can block split screens if the program interface is not adapted for a horizontal or smaller format, most often this applies to banking applications or some games that require full immersion. However, there are no restrictions for most popular services from Google, Yandex and social networks.
There is also a floating window mode, which is often confused with split screen, in which case the second application opens as a small window on top of the main interface, which is convenient for short-term actions, but for full work side by side, it is better to use the classic Split Screen.
How to run two apps through the recent task menu
The most common and quick way to activate two apps on the same Xiaomi screen is to use the task menu, which doesn’t require additional shortcuts or deep immersion into system settings. It’s intuitive and works on most current firmware versions.
First, you need to open the first app you want to see on the screen, let's say it's YouTube. Once the video is running without closing it, swipe from the bottom up (or click the menu button if you have classic navigation) to go to the list of recent apps, and here you will see the cards of all the programs running.
On the card of the desired application (for example, YouTube), press and hold your finger, or, in some versions of MIUI, click on the application icon at the top of the card. In the context menu that appears, select "Share screen" or an icon that resembles two vertical bars. The screen blinks, and the active window collapses into the upper half of the display.
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If you don’t see the split screen icon, try swiping the app card left or right – in some design themes, this feature is hidden there.
Once you activate the top zone, the system will ask you to select a second application from a list of frequently used or all installed programs. Click on the desired icon, such as a browser or notes. Now you have two applications running simultaneously. You can move the boundary between them by dragging the central dividing line, changing the proportions of the content display.
☑️ Pre-launch checks
Use of the widget "Shaded Screen Shortcut"
If you use split-screen mode all the time, it becomes inconvenient to look for the right apps in the task menu, and Xiaomi has a shortcut feature specifically for this, which allows you to run a pre-selected pair of apps with a single touch directly from your desktop.
To create such a tool, open the standard "Security" app (green zipper icon) that is preinstalled on each Xiaomi smartphone. In the feature menu, find the "Shadow Screen Shortcut." If you can't find it right away, search the in-app or "Tools" section.
In the menu that opens, click Add. The system will tell you to select the first app for the top half of the screen and the second app for the bottom half of the screen. After selecting a pair, you can rename the shortcut to understand what it is intended for, such as "Work" or "Entertainment." Press "Ready" and a new icon will appear on the desktop.
⚠️ Note: When you delete one of the apps that are in the pair, the shortcut will stop working and require reconfiguration.
The advantage of this is speed: you don't have to spend time opening the task menu and finding the right windows. One touch, and you're in multitasking mode, and this is especially true for students who need to constantly check a textbook and write a notebook, or for traders who follow charts and news feeds.
Floating windows for maximum flexibility
In addition to the hard splitting of the screen in half, Xiaomi offers a more flexible option – floating windows, which allows you to run a second application on top of the first in the form of a variable window, which can be moved around the screen, folded to the edge or unfolded on the entire display.
You can activate a floating window from the recent task menu by selecting the appropriate icon (usually looks like a window inside the window). However, there is a faster way available in the system settings. Go to Settings → Additional settings → Floating windows (the path may vary depending on the version of MIUI).
In this mode, you can run multiple applications at once, for example, you can open a messenger window on top of the navigator map, and a calculator on top of it, and each window has its own boundaries and is managed independently, which creates the effect of a desktop operating system on a smartphone.
It is important to note that floating windows consume more RAM. If your device has less than 4 GB of RAM, the system can automatically close the background processes, which will lead to the reboot of applications when switching, in such cases it is better to limit yourself to two active windows.
Secret gesture for a floating window
Application compatibility and function support table
Not all apps perform equally well in split-screen mode. Some may display incorrectly, shift the interface, or completely refuse to run in the second window.
Below is a chart showing how popular Split Screen apps behave on Xiaomi devices, and it will help you understand what to expect from your favorite services.
| Annex | Split Screen Support | Features of work | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Complete. | The video continues to play, the sound is not lost. | Tall. |
| Telegram | Complete. | Easy text input, keyboard does not overlap content | Tall. |
| Partial | The tape works, but Stories may not open | Medium | |
| Banking applications | No. | Blocking the launch for security reasons | Low. |
| Games (PUBG, CoD) | No. | They need a full screen, they can fly out. | Low. |
If the application does not support split screen, the system will issue a notification stating that "This application may not support split screen." In most cases, this restriction cannot be circumvented by regular means, since it is laid down at the application manifest level.
However, there are ways to force the feature to be enabled for any application through an engineering menu or ADB-It requires root rights or a connection to a computer, and it's safer for the average user to use only supported applications to avoid system failures.
Solving problems and optimizing work
When using two applications simultaneously, users can face a number of difficulties, the most common problem is the spontaneous closure of one of the windows, which occurs when the system lacks RAM to keep two heavy processes active.
To minimize the number of app reboots, go to the Memory Extensions settings (if available on your model) and select the maximum amount of virtual RAM. Also recommend background processes that you don't need at the moment through the battery management menu.
⚠️ Attention: Split screen mode significantly speeds up battery drain.Two active processes load the processor and screen more than one application, so watch the level of charge.
Another problem is that touch input is not working properly, and in some cases, the second application's keyboard can override the content of the first application, and that's done by changing the proportions of the windows, dragging the dividing line so that the keyboard application has more than 50 percent of the screen space.
If the app interface is going away or getting too small, try turning it on the full screen and then activating the separation again. Sometimes it helps to just restart both apps. Remember that in the horizontal position of the smartphone, the logic of separation can change: windows will be located side by side, not on top of each other.
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For stable operation of two applications, close heavy background tasks and monitor the free space in the device memory.